2016 Volvo XC90: doors won't lock, open or latch

Filed Sep 3, 2025 · IL

The rear two car doors will not open. It started months ago with the left side and now is both doors. This is dangerous if anyone in the rear of the vehicle should need to exit in a timely manner. The dealership knows this is an issue, but says they are not obligated to fix it for free because there isn’t a recall yet.

Filed Aug 12, 2025 · Body · SC

I am filing a safety complaint regarding a failed rear door latch actuator in my 2016 Volvo XC90. This is a known issue among Volvo owners, yet there appears to be no recall or corrective action. The defect causes the door latch actuator to seize, rendering the affected rear door completely inoperable from both the inside and outside. This means passengers seated in the rear are unable to open the door to exit the vehicle. This is an extremely dangerous and potentially life-threatening hazard. In the event of an emergency—such as a fire, collision, or submersion—rear seat passengers would be trapped inside the vehicle with no way to escape. This failure compromises basic vehicle safety standards, as all doors should be fully functional to allow for emergency egress. I strongly urge the federal safety agency to investigate this recurring defect in Volvo vehicles and require Volvo to address it promptly before it results in serious injury or death.

Filed Feb 3, 2025 · Locks · SD

Loaded children into second row of vehicle, confirmed all doors closed. Began driving, passenger rear door swung open. Child DID NOT engage door handle. Pulled over to attempt to close door. Door latch would not engage, could not close or lock door. Still unable to close and lock door.

Filed Apr 29, 2024 · Locks · NY

The left rear door of my vehicle flew open while we were moving with my 10-year-old daughter sitting adjacent to the door. Fortunately, she had her seat belt on otherwise the result would have been tragic. On [XXX] my daughter got into the back of my vehicle, suddenly, her door flew open, I immediately stopped the vehicle. My daughter was unable to shut the door and after many attempts I got the door to shut. When we arrived at home both rear doors would not open and my now trapped daughter exited through the front door. On [XXX], I went to Volvo in Rochester NY and explained the situation expecting the service person to be extremely concerned. Much to my surprise he said “that happens all the time” and that when it gets cold out sometimes the latches don’t respond. I anticipated that my car would go in immediately but was told “how is Thursday to bring your car in.” I dropped my car off and received a call that afternoon with “great news” that the issue was a faulty door latch, the part was in stock and came with a “lifetime warranty.” He told me the cost was $734.00 per door meaning with sales tax the cost would be over $1,500 and I would still have two doors at risk for flying open in the future. I asked how this life safety issue which has failed on countless other vehicles is not covered by the manufacturer nor has there been a recall. He said Volvo has recognized the door latch safety issue and designed a fix. When the door latch fails, this new replacement part, that the consumer pays for, solves the problem. Volvo recognized a safety problem, designed the fix, yet has chosen not to recall the vehicles that have these problems but rather waits until the door latch fails before the consumer must pay to replace it. I arrived the next day to pick up my vehicle, sat down with the service manager who was empathetic, but reiterated this is an issue that has repeatedly occurred. This needs to be addressed and not paid by consumers INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

Filed Mar 1, 2024 · WA

It started with the right rear passenger door not opening from the inside or outside of the car. At first you could lock the doors from the inside and then open the door, but now the door will not open at all. My left rear passenger door has started to do the same thing this week. It will only open about 50% of the time. The door handles are in good order, and this is not related to an accident. This is an extremely dangerous situation for my kids! If we were in a car accident or if there was a fire in the car they would not be able to escape. I have attempted to contact customer service, but have not been able to get a hold of them.

Filed Feb 21, 2024 · WA

The rear door locking system has failed. Both doors will not open from the interior or exterior. I have read thousands of complaints about this particular problem with this make and model of Volvo. The locking system on a car should never fail. HUGE safety concern.

Filed Feb 12, 2024 · Locks · OR

Rear driver's side door has the door lock motor fail and the door is unable to be opened from either the inside or outside. I was not in an accident, but had I been this would have been incredibly dangerous for passengers in the back seat of the car. Per discussions with my repair shop, this component should not fail and they have done numerous repairs on this problem on other cars of the same model.

Filed Jan 11, 2024 · Body · VA

In cold weather, doors will not close back once opened. It just bounces back at you. Thought door was closed a few times and it flew open on highway when exiting. My niece was in the back seat. How is this not recalled with multiple complaints on the Volvo forum?

Filed Dec 12, 2023 · Locks · 80,000 miles · UT

The contact owns a 2016 Volvo XC90. The contact stated that the rear door latches and locks were frozen and no longer opened or closed as designed. The contact stated he no longer attempts to open the door out of concern that the door will no longer be able to be closed properly. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that water had entered the rear door locking mechanism. The door locks had not been repaired or replaced. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Filed Mar 23, 2023 · Body, Electrical · WI

The door locks FREEZE SHUT in the winter. You CANNOT open the affected door(s). This is a widespread, serious safety issue and Volvo has done nothing about it. A passenger could die if unable to exit the vehicle. Note that both of my rear passenger door LOCKS - not just the door seals, the LOCKS - have done this repeatedly during my ownership. The vehicle is kept out of the elements in a garage.

Filed Jan 17, 2023 · Electrical · WA

First, the rear passenger side door latch failed at 57k miles, allegedly due to water intrusion. They replaced with a revised part - p/n 32310869. Now at 63k miles, the driver side rear door latch failed in the same way. This compromises safety because it renders the rear seats completely inaccessible. I could not get my children out of the back seat through traditional means. The problem has been confirmed by a dealership and is well documented online. There was no warning or indication when the part had failed. The passenger door stopped working "regularly" (intermittently would not open) a few days before it failed entirely. The driver rear door gave no advanced notice.

Filed Dec 24, 2022 · Body · MI

When temperatures drop below freezing, the rear door latches will not latch closed. Our children have to hang onto the doors to keep them from swinging open on corners while they also try not to fall out of the vehicle. Dealer says this is a common problem on this model, and is known to Volvo. They’ve attempted to regrease, and advised that the technical service bulletin provided by Volvo does not fix the issue (attempting to reseal window above latch to keep from water intrusion/freezing).